Liverpool's Winger Rebuild: Barcola and Minteh Targets
Liverpool’s winger rebuild is starting to take shape, and it is Paris Saint-Germain feeling the strain of it.
The Premier League club have opened talks with PSG over both Ibrahim Mbaye and Bradley Barcola, agreed personal terms with the pair, and yet still find themselves locked in a financial arm-wrestle with the French champions. At the same time, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh has surged up their shortlist and is now being treated as a priority over Mbaye.
This is not a quiet window at Anfield. It’s a reshaping.
Barcola the priority – and the deal that looks closest
Inside the negotiations, one name keeps coming back: Bradley Barcola.
RMC Sport reporter Fabrice Hawkins, speaking on the After Foot podcast, was clear about Liverpool’s internal hierarchy.
“LFC are already negotiating for Barcola, who is their top priority, they really want to make it happen and I said, I think it’s going to go through,” he explained. “That’s the feeling amongst everyone in the deal.”
Barcola wants it too. The winger has already informed PSG of his desire to join Liverpool, and the French club have accepted that stance. There is “no intention to keep Bradley Barcola,” Hawkins said. The only fight left is over the price.
PSG started in fantasy-land. Their original internal valuation hit €170m, before they moved to a formal asking price of €145m and then dropped it again to €125m. Liverpool have already tested the waters with an offer of €115m (around £98m) and are prepared to climb towards €120m.
Hawkins believes the decisive moment is coming.
“Liverpool have made different verbal offers. They’ve made offers since the verbal one, but there hasn’t been a written offer yet because, at this level, I think the next written offer will be the one that gets it done,” he said.
“We’ve understood that it would be somewhere between €130m and €150m, but in any case, it won’t be below €120m for Bradley Barcola. Everyone involved in this deal thinks there will be an agreement.”
The pressure is building on PSG’s side too. Their forward line has already been swollen by the arrivals of Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts. Both Barcola and Mbaye are now looking for exits, and Liverpool are circling.
Mbaye talks stall as Liverpool push Minteh
Ibrahim Mbaye is not an afterthought. He has a contractual agreement with Liverpool, according to Hawkins, but his move is tangled in numbers PSG refuse to soften.
“I don’t dare say the price being asked by Paris Saint-Germain, firstly because I haven’t had confirmation,” Hawkins admitted. “Ibrahim Mbaye has a contractual agreement with Liverpool. What’s really going to be a problem is the agreement between clubs because LFC are already negotiating for Barcola… Secondly, there’s Ibrahim Mbaye, but PSG are asking for a substantial fee, and at the moment Liverpool aren’t ready to accept that.”
The outlines are known. PSG value Mbaye in the £43-50m bracket. Liverpool see him closer to £30m. That gap, right now, is blocking the path.
Talks are not dead. “For Ibrahim Mbaye, it’s a little bit more problematic, but negotiations are still ongoing,” Hawkins said. Yet while those discussions drag, Liverpool have shifted their energy elsewhere.
According to Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, Liverpool have decided to prioritise a move for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh over Mbaye. They have already seen a £50m bid turned down and are preparing a new offer.
It is a clear message. Mbaye may still be wanted, but not at any price. Minteh, with his Premier League exposure and explosive profile, has jumped the queue.
A double swoop in Liverpool’s sights
Strip away the noise and one thing stands out: Liverpool are aiming high. Very high.
They have Barcola as their top winger target and are driving towards a fee that could easily clear €120m. They are pushing for Minteh despite Brighton rejecting an opening £50m offer. They have Mbaye tied down on personal terms and will move if PSG’s stance softens.
As things stand, the ideal outcome at Anfield is bold – sign both Barcola and Minteh and overhaul the wide areas in a single window.
PSG have already accepted Barcola’s wish to leave. Brighton know Liverpool are coming back for Minteh. Mbaye is waiting on two clubs to find common ground.
Something has to give. The only question now is which deal breaks first – and how radically Liverpool’s attack will look when it does.
